Dozens of high school students from southeast New South Wales have put their knowledge of beef production to the test at this week’s 2025 School Steer Spectacular in the Shoalhaven.
The annual event held at the Nowra Showground on Tuesday and Wednesday was the culmination of a three-month project that aimed to expose students to a potential career in the agriculture industry, with a focus on the beef cattle sector.
“This is a fantastic event that gives students real-life, hands-on experience in an industry that is vital to the Shoalhaven’s agribusiness,” said Mayor Patricia White.
“We are incredibly proud to support the School Steer Spectacular and are delighted to host the event in the Shoalhaven, as we hope it will encourage more school leavers to consider a career in the industry in our region,” Cr White said.
“I’d like to congratulate the students for their participation and wish them luck as they showcase their skills and knowledge. We hope to see this event continue long into the future,” she said.
This year, 11 schools participated with 180 students engaged to prepare steers that had been provided by local beef producers to compete for awards.
Boorowa Central School was crowned the winner with the Grand Champion Led Steer while Max Gorey from St Gregory’s College won the title of Champion Parader.
Judging was based on the merits of the steers and the knowledge and skills of the students gained throughout the project.
The project also provided local beef producers with an opportunity to gain valuable feedback on the suitability of their cattle to meet market specifications.
The event was organised by the South Coast Beef Producers Association with support from Shoalhaven Council through the organisation’s Business Partnership Program.
The program provides various streams of funding for local organisations to deliver workshops, information sessions, mentoring programs, events or forums that celebrate and create new opportunities for Shoalhaven Businesses.
For more information about the School Steer Spectacular visit the South Coast Beef Producers Association web page.
To learn more about Council’s Business Partnership Program visit the Tourism and Economic Development website.
2025 School Steer Spectacular Results
- Manildra Champion School – Boorowa Central School
- Reserve Champion School – Narooma High School
Carcass results:
- Manildra Champion Carcass – Boorowa Central School with a heavy weight speckle park steer bred by JAD Speckle Parks
- Reserve Champion Carcass – Boorowa Central School with a light weight steer bred by Su McCluskey
Led Steer results:
- Light Weight Champion – Narooma high School with a Limousion cross bred by J&D Cullen
- Medium Weight Champion – Boorowa Central School Square Meater bred by Javid Farm
- Heavy Weight Champion – Boorowa Central School Speckle Park bred by JAD Speckle Parks
- Grand Champion Led Steer – Boorowa Central School Heavy Weight Speckle Park bred by JAD Speckle Parks
Click here for event results.
Click here for carcase results.
(Image: South Coast Beef Producers Association.)
School Steer Spectacular carcase results announced
The carcase results for the South Coast Beef School Steer Spectacular 2025 have been announced, with overall point scores being down on previous years, and only six Bronze medals awarded over the 33 competing steers. Chair of the South Coast Beef organising committee, Lee Pippard, noted that this year’s carcase results overall were a bit surprising considering that there were some good looking steers in the mob and that the weather hadn’t impacted on the steers, with no reports of illness over the course of the feed trial, which is founded upon DDG pellets donated by Manildra Stock Feeds.
Champion heavy weight and Grand Champion carcase went to a Speckle Park exhibited by Boorowa Central School and bred by JAD Speckle Park, Yeoval. This also won champion on the hoof, thus vindicating selection by hoof judges Tony Starr and Zeke Groom. The steer topped the score board with 91.5 points, but only achieved a Bronze medal having lost points in the Market Specification category for an excess of fat.
Boorowa also picked up light weight & reserve champion carcase with one of their Murray Grey’s bred by Su McClusky, scoring 91.0 points and a Bronze medal.
The balance of the Bronze medals were awarded in the Light weight class, with the runner-up being a South Devon with 84.5 points, exhibited by Bomaderry High School and bred by Tannoch South Devons, Gerringong. Other Bronze medals went to Snow Mountains Grammar School with SimAngus-Limousin composite bred by Toby & Helen Greenacre, Jaspers Brush, and another Murray Grey from the Boorowa – McClusky combination, both with 84.0 points. Rounding out the medals was a Limousin exhibited by Shoalhaven High School and bred by Daren Turner, with 81 points.
Interestingly, no medals were won in the medium weight class, which was topped by a SimAngus-Limousin composite exhibited by Oak Flats High School and again bred by Toby & Helen Greenacre with 88 points, followed by Square Meater exhibited by Boorowa Central School and bred by Javid Farm.
Having won two of the hoof classes and two of the carcase classes, and performing well in each of the other categories, Boorowa Central School was awarded the title of Manildra Champion School at the 2025 Spectacular. Agriculture teacher at Boorowa, James McDonald said “we’re chuffed with the results – the students put in a big effort with the cattle and we have fantastic support from a number of great breeders”.
Looking closely at the results Mr. Pippard remarked that meeting the Market Specification component of the points score was crucial for doing well. Only 9 of the 33 achieved 30/30 for market specification. Only 6 achieved better than 30/35 for Retail Meat Yield, and only 10 did better than 30/35 for Eating Quality. “It’s a tough assessment system, but it’s a tough commercial business, and the students need to appreciate that”, he said.
Mr. Pippard also said that one member of the South Coast Beef Producers Association Inc., exhibiting for the first time with his European steers, gained valuable insight to their maturity rates and fat deposition, identifying that one of his sires was clearly better than the other. Former South Coast Beef chief executive Rob Stafford stressed that the “results show how important it is to score well in all of the carcass characteristics to be eligible for a medal –it’s a combination of steer selection for good genetic traits and then feeding to meet the market specifications. The market nomination of weight class is a distinctive feature of the Spectacular and it exists to teach students about the importance of dressing percentage for their particular breed type”.
Full results for the School Steer Spectacular 2025 are available on the South Coast Beef website.
